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Origins of Namekians In Dragon Ball Super

WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers from Dragon Ball Super Chapter 69. Read ahead at your own discretion!

Apart from the Saiyans, the Namekians and their story are quite significant in the Dragon Ball Series. They debuted in a brutal way in the form of Demon King Piccolo who caused havoc to the people of Earth, including killing beloved characters like Krillin, Roshi and Chiaotzu.

The Namek Saga in Dragon Ball Z highlighted the Namekians by giving us more information on their powers and types. In the Saga, Grand Elder Guru told the tale of a horrible cataclysmic storm in Age 261 which hit Planet Namek. This storm wiped out all Namekians except Guru and Namekians who were in other worlds including the Nameless Namekian, who later split into Kami and King Piccolo.

Since Namekians reproduce asexually, the Elder was able to repopulate the planet, giving birth to 109 Namekians. Guru’s children began re-building the planet, especially the lush vegetation that had been destroyed in the storms.

They are well known throughout the Universe. The Daizenshuu states that they used to trade with other planets, but stopped after the cataclysm. Since Frieza’s army ruled a large part of the Galaxy, word would have spread that the Namekians have wish orbs. So, that’s why they were target often. Wherever there are Dragon Balls, trouble is around the corner.

In chapter 69 of Dragon Ball Super, the plot thickens in regards to Namekian lore as Moori teaches about Dragon Balls to his students.

Namekians are not originally from Universe 7

Namekians moved to Universe 7 from another "realm"
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 69 – Namekians moved from another “realm”

From what Moori and Gas of the Heeters group have said, we made the following deductions of what happened after the Namekians moved from that other realm.

  • The majority of those Namekians moved to a planet that later became planet Namek. Then the great catastrophe took place which wiped out almost all the Namekians.
  • The rest of them moved to other parts of the Universe, including planet Cereal. Gas said they used to be a tribe in the home of the Cerealians. Monaito is now the sole Namekian in Cereal.

Now, let us discuss what could be the possible origins of the Namekian race.

Where did the Namekians originally come from?

The words “moved to ‘this Universe’ from ‘another realm altogether'” are key to understand where they came from. We can interpret this statement in two different ways.

One, Moori stressed on ‘this Universe’ which could mean they were originally from another universe. Two, the ‘another realm altogether’ gives the impression that they are from another realm outside the Mortal realm.

Namekians may be from another Universe

Whis once said that Universe 6 and Universe 7 are twins. This means that whatever exists in Universe 7, there may be a twin or a counterpart of that in Universe 6 as well. In the Tournament of Power, we see two Namekians from the 6th Universe – Saonel and Pirina.

The 6th Universe's Namekians
Saonel and Pirina

They have a darker skin tone than Namekians like Piccolo and Dende. Maybe as the Namekians moved from Universe 6 to 7, their skin tone lightened in response to the changing atmosphere. This means that this (the skin tone of the Namekians in the picture above) could be the original skin color of the Namekians.

One more striking piece of information. In chapter 6 of Dragon Ball Super, Lord Champa says something interesting:

Namekian Dragon Balls were created from Super Dragon Balls
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 6 – Namekians created their own set of Dragon Balls from taking fragments of the Super Dragon Balls

Curiously, nobody in Universe 7 doesn’t seem to know about this. Not even the wise and knowledgeable Whis. So how did only Champa got to know about this key piece of information? Well, maybe The Namekians of Universe 7 never took fragments of the Super Dragon Balls that exist in this Universe.

What if the Namekians were originally from Universe 6, took fragments from the Super Dragon Balls which exist there and created their own set in Universe 6’s planet Namek? Some of those Namekians chose to come here in Universe 7 and used the same principle to create Namekian Dragon Balls here. This is one plausible theory.

Another one is that Namekians could be from one of the erased Universes. There used to be 18 Universes. Now there are 12. They could have originated from one of these Universes which were erased by Zeno.

Namekians could be from a completely different realm or dimension

Taking the meaning of Moori’s words “another realm altogether”, Namekians came to Universe 7 from a realm that exists outside any of the 12 Universes. This realm could be outside the curfew of Mortality or above the Mortal realm. Or it could be a realm within the Mortal space. But just another realm.

Dragon Realm

As some of you would already know, Toyotarō sometimes borrows elements from fan-fiction and incorporates them in the main series. In Dragon Ball AF (Which is Toyotarō’s own fan-fiction sequel to Dragon Ball GT), there is a mention of a realm beyond the world of the Kais.

Dragon Ball AF Dragon realm or Ryu'oshin realm
Dragon Ball AF – Elder Kai said Goku went to a world beyond the realm of the Kaioshin. A world beyond the Mortal realm
The Dragon Realm in Dragon Ball AF
Ryu’oshin or the Dragon Realm – A world where Dragons like Shenron lives

From this idea, Namekians could be from a realm similar to this Dragon realm. A realm that exists outside the boundary of the 12 Mortal Universes or above the world of the Kais. This could involve the Dragon God Zalama as well. If he’s the ancestor to all Namekians, then he could exist in this realm as the one who gave birth to the Namekians and the Super Dragon Balls. This could explain why members of the Dragon Clan can possess God Ki.

This realm may not have the known laws of physics present in the 12 Universes and the materialization and utilization of magic are traditional here (which is why Namekians are skilled in using magical powers like healing).

Maybe the Dragons also exist in this realm and whenever someone uses the Dragon Balls to summon them, they come out of this realm and come to the Mortal realm to grant wishes.

Demon Realm

It’s a realm that exists on the opposite plane of the known universe. A dimension on the opposite side of the Angels. It is neither part of the living world nor part of another world. Dabura used to rule this world.

What if the Namekians came from here? It’s possible that Namekians started off as an evil race. Then some good Namekians wanted to distance themselves from the bad and left that realm to Universe 7. Since they were born as demons, they also had a demonic side inside them but were more or less controlled by vigorous training and meditation. But the Nameless Namekian couldn’t control his and that’s why he had to split his evil side, King Piccolo. Zalama may be involved in this scenario.

We’ve still yet to know more about this ‘realm’ so let’s wait for the authors to give more information.

Why did the Namekians leave their realm?

There are a lot of possibilities. But for now, let’s assume that Zalama is the ancestor to all Namekians.

  • If Zalama is really strong, i.e. above the levels of G.O.Ds and Angels, then he may have given birth to Namekians and voluntarily sent them to Universes where wish orbs are needed the most. He could have instructed his offspring to take fragments of his Super Dragon Balls and make their own set to make wishing a lot easier.
  • If Zalama isn’t strong, maybe around the levels of Zuno (who gets easily threatened for information), then some powerful villain might have captured or overpowered Zalama. In order to save his children, he might have transported them in the Mortal realm (maybe Universe 6 first) where they are out of the villain’s clutches. They similarly had to relocate again later on cause’ Frieza destroyed their original home.

I place my bets on the “different realm outside of the Mortal realm”. However, the other Universe theory might not be far off from the truth.

Of course, we cannot predict what would happen scene by scene. So take these as instances that could be similar to the actual thing. What do you think of Namekians and their origins? Will the Granolah arc bring back Zalama into the picture? Do you want more lore or do you want to skip ahead and see the fights? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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